Carl Landry

We know Reggie Bush can run, but can he hide? Carl Landry: NBA rookie of the year? Over at Â?The Wages of WinsÂ?, they make the case for the former Purdue forward as one of, if not the best NBA rookie. HoustonÂ?s current run of success coincides with LandryÂ?s increased playing time and they compare his production to other rookies at the same position. ItÂ?s a strong case, particularly if you buy into their statistical models, explained at the end of the entry and in a persuasive book , also called Â?

First-year Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter doesn't have the withering glare that his predecessor, Gene Keady, used to slice through officials, rowdy opposing fans, or bearers of bad news. He might be developing a glare of his own sooner than he could have imagined. Before the season started, Painter and the Boilermakers lost last season's second leading scorer on the team, David Teague, for this season due to a knee injury. Prized point guard recruit Tarrance Crump is out for the season because of disciplinary action.

It may be a road game for Purdue's Boilermakers, but Gordon Watt will feel right at home despite wearing the Old Gold and Black. Watt played at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena as a high school star for Evanston Township High School. The connection to the hometown Wildcats is strong -- Evanston Township teams are called the Wildkits. Players from Evanston Township play at Welsh-Ryan in the summer along with Northwestern players. Many of the Northwestern players serve as mentors to the Wildkits.

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) -- Valparaiso High School's Robbie Hummel has became the third top in-state basketball recruit to pick Purdue over Indiana in recent weeks. Hummel, a 6-foot-8 forward going into his senior season, made the oral commitment on Monday. He is ranked No. 72 nationally by Rivals.com and averaged 12.5 points a game last season as Valparaiso went 21-3. Hummel said he knew little about new Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, but felt good about Purdue. "I just felt comfortable with the situation there," he said.

Tentative going after rebounds, not unleashing the explosive first step that is a trademark, power moves that weren't finished off strong -- Purdue basketball fans can't be blamed for being concerned about Carl Landry's return after a season off due to a knee injury. But Landry, who averaged 18.2 points and 7.1 rebounds a game in his first season as a Boilermaker, apparently is back in full force. Landry, a 6-foot-7 senior, averaged 22 points and 8.7 rebounds a game in last week's Maui Invitational to earn all-tournament honors in the eight-team field, and fill Purdue fans with confidence heading into tonight's ACC/Big Ten Challenge match against Virginia.

If Purdue's Boilermakers are looking for sympathy, they won't find it from tonight's opponent. Purdue has three players expected to start this season out for the entire 2005-2006 campaign -- David Teague (injury), Carl Landry (injury) and Tarrance Crump (disciplinary). But few schools can relate to what the University of New Orleans basketball team has endured. The team was relocated to Tyler, Texas. Privateers head coach Monte Towe, a former Indiana high school basketball star in the 1970s, later accused other schools of a tactic referred to as "athletic looting" after they tried to take advantage of the hardship caused by Hurricane Katrina and lure away New Orleans players.

Purdue guard Chris Kramer is only a freshman, but he knows that 0-2 is not the way to start a Big Ten basketball campaign when the goal is to establish a foundation for future success. Purdue tries to hold its serve at home today against Penn State after stubbing its toe Wednesday at Minnesota. "We really don't want to go 0-2," Kramer said of going up against a Penn State team that throttled Northwestern in its opener last week. "We just want to come out and do the things we do best. We just need to get the ball into (inside threat Carl Landry)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Not even Kryptonite could slow down the Purdue Boilermakers when they put on their home whites and step onto the Mackey Arena hardwood -- at least on Saturday. Purdue, returning home after a 27-point whipping at the hands of Indiana on Wednesday, put a hurt on Michigan, 67-53, in Big Ten college basketball action. Carl Landry led Purdue with 22 points and fellow senior David Teague pumped in 21 points. Dion Harris led Michigan with 21 points, the Wolverines' only scorer in double figures.

OK, so Purdue's basketball team doesn't get the luxury of a frying pan. The Boilermakers jump straight into the fire tonight when they try to end their 27-game losing streak in opposing arenas at No. 2-ranked Wisconsin. Coach Matt Painter's team recovered from it's last road debacle, a 27-point whipping at the hands of archrival Indiana, by trouncing a tough Michigan club, 67-53, on Saturday. Tonight's meeting between the Badgers and the Boilermakers is the only one of the regular season between the two. Purdue's game against Wisconsin features a match-up of brothers who call Milwaukee home -- Purdue senior Carl Landry and Wisconsin sophomore Marcus Landry.

With Scott Martin's decision to transfer from Purdue, the Boilermaker men's basketball team will be missing a fluid 6-foot-8 versatile player who averaged 8.3 points a game. But the Boilermakers should still pack a punch next season. Purdue has two highly-touted prospects coming in next season -- speedy point guard Lewis Jackson (Decatur, Ill.) and shooting guard Ryne Smith (Toledo, Ohio) -- that will help ease the loss of Martin. Jackson will be a smooth replacement who may remind Purdue fans of senior Tarrance Crump in terms of a high-octane guard who can drive and dish and wear down an opponent's point guard.

We know Reggie Bush can run, but can he hide? Carl Landry: NBA rookie of the year? Over at Â?The Wages of WinsÂ?, they make the case for the former Purdue forward as one of, if not the best NBA rookie. HoustonÂ?s current run of success coincides with LandryÂ?s increased playing time and they compare his production to other rookies at the same position. ItÂ?s a strong case, particularly if you buy into their statistical models, explained at the end of the entry and in a persuasive book , also called Â?

There were times during the non-conference portion of Purdue's basketball schedule when it rained threes. And not because it was the best option. Purdue managed to hit only 74-for-232 shots from 3-point range (31 percent) in its 13 non-conference games. Those numbers included a few stinkers in which the Boilermakers hit only 3-for-16, 3-for-19, and 4-for-21 shots from 3-point range. But the Big Ten season has been a different story, as Purdue hopes to demonstrate to Wisconsin today. Purdue has connected on 44 percent of its 3-point attempts in six Big Ten games (55 of 125)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Starting fast has been a point of emphasis for the Purdue men's basketball team, especially after a 66-62 escape against Lipscomb back on Nov. 20. Boilermaker coach Matt Painter tried to get the point across about starting strong when he pulled all five starters in an exhibition game a few minutes into action. On Saturday against Indiana State, Purdue started strong and built a 10-point lead, 22-12, with 9:31 left in the half. But then the Sycamores became the aggressors.

A picture tells a thousand words. It turns out that one picture, though, isn't enough to capture the true story of Purdue freshman Robbie Hummel. Purdue's men's basketball media guide shows a panel of photos of Hummel. Hummel launching a jumper with picture-perfect form. Hummel soaring to slam dunk. Hummel arcing a graceful shot from the corner. Hummel driving around a defender. Hummel bringing the ball upcourt. What opponents will soon discover the hard way is that Hummel, a 6-foot-8 Indiana All-Star from Valparaiso, is a match-up nightmare.

HIGH SCHOOL Tulchinsky to retire Nan Tulchinsky, the athletic director for the South Bend Community School Corp., since 2002, said Friday that she will retire when her contract expires in June. Tulchinsky has spent 43 years in the South Bend schools, teaching, coaching, officiating and, for the last nine years, working in athletic administration. In 1998, she became the athletic director at LaSalle High School, the first woman ever to hold that position in the corporation.

CHICAGO He was sitting right there, on the far left as you looked at the dais, but Greg Oden seemed above and beyond it all. That might as well have been a statue of him on a pedestal behind a velvet rope. Oden, the center of the Ohio State universe, didn't have to do or say anything in the postgame press conference to demonstrate the distance between him and the commoners. It's just there, as plain as his shadow across the college basketball landscape. Purdue played in the chilling shade Oden created Saturday, searching in vain for shafts of sunlight around the basket in a 63-52 loss.

CHICAGO -- It wouldn't have seemed far off to guess that Carl Landry would be seeing visions of Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden in his sleep on Saturday night. Except that Landry wasn't planning on doing too much slumbering. With their Big Ten Tournament journey in the books, ended by a 63-52 defeat to No. 1-ranked Ohio State and Oden on Saturday afternoon in a league tourney semifinal, the Boilermakers' thoughts could finally turn completely to their chances of obtaining one of the 65 NCAA Tournament bids.